Character Assessments

Thus far the MA in Management has been an incredibly challenging and invigorating academic experience. We have covered a variety coursework in accounting, quantitative modeling, and macroeconomic principles. However, some of the most interesting work we have done has consisted of personal interest and character assessments in our career management and organizational behavior courses.

In the beginning of the program, all of us took the Strength Development Inventory that classified us into 7 different motivational value systems. This information was then used to group us into our Action Learning Project teams so that they would be well balanced. We have also taken assessments in our learning styles, skill strengths, and emotional intelligence. These exercises have been incredibly useful tools to help highlight our strengths and weaknesses as individuals and team members within a group. I strongly believe that our group has benefited immensely from these assessments in terms of delegating tasks and facilitating communication.

The most interesting evaluation gauged our emotional intelligence (or EQ for short). We did this in our organizational behavior course by sending a questionnaire to 5 people, in which they evaluated our EQ. The results were incredibly enlightening and have really motivated to me to work on my weaknesses. One of these is conflict management. I try to avoid confrontation as much as possible but I know that this hinders me from maximizing my EQ. As a result, I have taken up bikram yoga, and journaling to help me center thoughts and my emotions for when I do have to be in those types of situations.

Taking these assessments has also helped me hone in on the type of career I would want to pursue after the program. I am confident that knowing my skills and strengths will be a huge advantage during my job search. For instance, when I saw that some of my strengths included influencing others, coaching and mentoring, creative production, and enterprise control, I began considering careers I had not previously thought of pursing like consulting and human resources. Additionally, I will be looking over my results before interviews because I think they will be useful in guiding my responses to tough interview questions.